Address: The Oratory School, Woodcote, Nr. Reading, South Oxfordshire RG8 0PJ
Website: www.oratory.co.uk
Founded: 1859 by Saint John Henry Newman
Number of Pupils: 350
Fees: £7,513 – £15,800 per term
Ages: Co-educational 11–18
Head Teacher: Dr Julian Murphy, DPhil (OXON)
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic
Entrance Procedure: Selective: 11+ through an Assessment Day; 13+ through ISEB Common Entrance; 16+ through
predicted GCSE grades and Entrance Assessment.
Contact: Kate Ryan, Admissions Manager
Email: [email protected]
School Visits: Open Mornings 2025: Saturday 1 March, Saturday 10 May, Personal Tours, Experience Days & Taster Days also available.
The Curriculum
GCSE through to A levels for all main stream subjects, including Latin, and an extensive co-curricular programme of over 50 activities.
Games & The Arts
Outstanding sporting and arts facilities including:
- 25m Swimming Pool
- 6 Lawn Tennis Courts
- Real Tennis Court (1 of only 4 schools in the country)
- 3 Squash Courts
- 9-hole Golf Course
- Ergo Room
- Indoor Cycling Studio
- Indoor Sports Hall
- Gym
- Theatre
- Art Gallery
Pastoral Care
4 Boarding Houses with live-in Housemasters and staff; Residential tutors; School Counsellor; School Chaplain.
Our community is defined by very strong pastoral care, the nurturing of each individual pupil is at the very heart of school life. We remain, quite deliberately, small enough that we know every one of our students in the way that their parents know them. We have created an atmosphere that is challenging yet not intimidating, because education here happens one student at a time.
University Places
A Level grades are above the national averages with the majority of students reaching their first choice university, many of which are Russell Group. Leavers’ destinations for 2024 include University of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Warwick, University of London in Paris (ULIP) and Nottingham.
Head Teacher’s Philosophy
The Ex Umbris Learning Culture: one of the key features that distinguishes a great school from a mediocre school is a clear learning culture. Our Founder, Saint John Henry Newman’s vision of education was of a holistic process of active engagement in learning that would develop not just the knowledge of facts, but a deeper understanding of reality, wiser judgement, and profound personal flourishing. Ex Umbris aims to keep Newman’s educational vision alive in the twenty-first century.
Outstanding Characteristics
- A dynamic Ex Umbris Learning Culture
- Inclusive family atmosphere with strong pastoral care
- Our smaller size means that every student is known and valued as an individual
- Situated in a 100-acre Oxfordshire estate providing space to study, play sport or just unwind
- Full, weekly and flexi boarding available, with excellent transport links to central London (1 hour’s drive) and Heathrow (45 mins drive).
- Outstanding sporting tradition
